title: A contemporary pathology of science.
abstract: A contemporary pathology of science is outlined. This pathology suggests that "previous knowledge" drastically limits innovative thinking in science. In very raw "Bayesian" terms it is affirmed that a too rich and flexible a priori knowledge is detrimental to the appreciation of novelty coming from experimental results by both lowering the relative weight assigned to a posteriori contrasting evidence and adapting potentially revolutionary findings to an already existing frame.
authors.affiliation: Museo di Storia Naturale, Università degli Studi, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Modonesi
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Farina
authors.forename: Ignazio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Licata
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Germano
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zbilut
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giuliani
mesh_terms: D019359:Knowledge; D012586:Science